Monday, January 19, 2015

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. day, Kathy is sharing the story of her grandmother's friendship with a remarkable woman names Miss Lena. I hope you enjoy:

As I was scanning the book section of a local thrift shop,
my eyes came to rest on a particular title, The
Help by Kathryn Stockett. I thought to myself, “Hmm, I wonder if the title
implies what I think it does?” I picked the book up, read through the synopsis
and decided it would be my purchase of the day.
Later in the evening, I began reading. As the minutes went by, I was
transported to the south of my childhood. I was introduced to Aibileen, Minny,
and Skeeter. Aibileen and Minny are two black maids who work for the upper
middle class white families and are commonly known as “the help.” Skeeter, a member
of a prominent white family, and journalism graduate of Ole Miss, observes the
division and racial tensions in the town of Jackson. While she ponders the
situation, a spark ignites, which turns into a fire in her belly. Through a
series of events she begins to collect interviews from “the help” which not only
turns into a national best-selling book, but cements the friendship of two black
women and a white woman during the turbulent years of the Jim Crow south. After
I finished the last page, I smiled. Kathyrn Stockett’s best -selling novel was
reminiscent of the friendship my maternal grandmother, Gram and I shared with a
black woman named Miss Lena. Today, I would like to share with you the story of
our friendship which spanned across two generations.

For as long as I could remember, Gram and Miss Lena had been friends. Their
friendship formed from a local church circle they belonged to. During my
childhood, I remember Gram saying, “I’m going to visit Lena today.” I often
accompanied Gram on these visits to The Hollow, Miss Lena’s predominately black
neighborhood. Upon arriving at Miss Lena’s home, we were greeted with true
southern hospitality. The first thing that caught my eye was the painting of
the “Black Jesus” hanging in the center of the living room wall, flanked by a
picture of Abraham Lincoln on the right and a photo of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. on the left. Miss Lena saw me gawking at the wall adornments and said,
“Everyone sees Jesus in his own way. The Negroes see him as black, the whites
see him as white, and the Chinese see him as yellow. It doesn’t make any
difference, because we all God’s children.” When I asked who the other two
gentlemen were, she began what was to become my first lesson in “civil rights”
education. Gently, she explained how Abraham Lincoln had freed the slaves and
how Dr. King was working to earn the same rights for black people as the white
people had. Miss Lena’s oration had satisfied my inquisitive mind at the moment
but had given me a thirst to learn more about the history of the civil rights
movement.

As my formative years sped by into adolescence, my
friendship with Miss Lena went to a deeper level as did my education on the
topic of civil rights. Our conversations would take place over a cup of hot
cocoa with marshmallow cream on top which Miss Lena had prepared for me. Miss
Lena’s great grandparents were slaves brought from Africa to live and work on a
local plantation. The plantation on which they lived was owned by a Mister
Samuel E. Lee. Mister Lee treated his slaves more like employees than property
and everyone was respected. Each enslaved person was required to go to school
for half a day. The slaves were taught life and vocational skills because as
Mister Lee said, “One day you will all be free, and you will need to be able to
make your own way in the world.” Miss Lena’s grandparents were the first “free”
generation on the plantation. Because of the generosity shown by Mister Lee,
her grandparents decided to remain on the planation as employees. When Miss
Lee’s parents became of adult age, they decided to leave the plantation and
head north to a better life. Miss Lena’s parents built a house in the area of
the city which would become the African-American community known as The Hollow
because of the surrounding landscape which shaped it. Miss Lena and her
siblings grew up in a modest, white clapboard, two bedroom home where later
Miss Lena and her husband would raise their own family. Their family life
consisted of attending a black school in The Hollow and regular church
activities. Miss Lena’s father worked as a butler, while her mother worked as a
maid for a prominent white family. Miss Lena said she always knew she would be
a maid. Her grandmother had been a house slave, her mother a maid, so she would
be a maid too. I asked her if she ever thought of being anything else. Her
response was, “No, Miss Kathy, it was all I ever knew.”

Miss Lena grew up, married Mister Robert and together they raised four
children, two boys and two girls. Mister Robert worked as a chauffeur and Miss
Lena worked as the head house maid for a white doctor named, William Bailey and
his wife Elizabeth. The hours were long, with minimum wage pay. One day while
Gram and Miss Lena were visiting, Gram asked Miss Lena this question, “Have you
ever thought of doing something else with your life?” to which came the reply,
“No, Daisy, being a maid is all I’ve ever known.” At that moment Gram looked
her square in the eye and challenged her to think of herself as more than
someone else’s property; to act on what she believed in, as she along with
thousands of others had marched with Dr. King in Washington D.C. for “Jobs and
Freedom” on August 27, 1963. To claim the opportunities in the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or
national origin. This was the mid 1960’s, Jim Crow had ended and there was a
better day coming according to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After all “we are
all God’s children” as Gram reminded her.
Miss Lena took up my grandmother’s challenge. She had decided she was tired of
being treated as “someone else’s” property and desired to better herself
through the reading of literature and a higher paying job. Due to the white
resentment of the Civil Rights Act, the Jim Crow Laws, though illegal, were
still the standard for the African-American population of the area. Gram would
check out books from the local public library for Miss Lena to read, and even helped
her compile a resume that would give her the opportunity for better employment.
Miss Lena ended up leaving her job as “the help” and went to work in a local
business alongside Gram. The two women went to work together every day in
Gram’s white Pontiac. At the beginning of the 1970’s both women retired and
began the next two decades doing charity work for those living in The Hollow.
In the late 1970’s Miss Lena was approached by the manager of a local coffee
shop with the opportunity to come and work as a manager. With the encouragement
of Gram, Miss Lena seized the opportunity. An employment position previously
only available to whites was now available to her. Miss Lena worked in the
local coffee shop for a decade and then retired. Because of their age and
health issues, Gram and Miss Lena were only able to get together for visiting
on a bi-weekly basis, but they did visit with each other on the telephone every
day to encourage one another, to laugh and cry together, and to pray for each
other.

During my years of conversing with Miss Lena, at the end of every conversation,
she would look at me while saying, “We all God’s children. Red, and yellow,
black and white. We are all God’s children, Miss Kathy.” At the time, I thought
it was odd she would always repeat this phrase to me, but would nod my head
while saying, “Yes, Miss Lena.” The last time I saw Miss Lena was the day of
Gram’s funeral. Miss Lena scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face. Once
she had located me, she led her group to greet me. Standing there, we reminisced
about Gram, her positive influence and how she had served the people of The
Hollow. After the funeral service, I thanked each of the members of the community
for honoring Gram’s memory by attending her service. Miss Lena hugged me,
looked me square in the eye while saying, “We all God’s children, Miss Kathy.
Red and yellow, black and white. We all God’s children.”

As we look to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let us remember
that it is more than just another holiday on the calendar. Each year as this
holiday in January approaches, I reflect back on the unlikely friendship of two
women and one child, two white, and one black. For me, this holiday not only
symbolizes our friendship but a never ending reminder that “We all God’s
children.”

Thanks Kathy for sharing that story. What an example Miss Lena and your grandmother are to all of us. While there is so much work to still be done in our nation to heal the racial rifts, stories like this show us that it is through relationships and investment in communities that change can be accomplished.

If you're interested in reading more about the history of African-Americans and the civil rights movement, check out these books:

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages. To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here. And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

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Monday, January 12, 2015

Do you homeschool? Do you have a blog? Do you blog about your experiences of teaching at home? Do you blog about BFB? We'd love to feature you! We are going to be starting a weekly link-up where we share links to articles and blog posts you've written about education and home schooling. If you've put together some awesome Pinterest pages on educational materials and resources you've found to be helpful, share those too!

We want this blog to be a source of encouragement, inspiration, and shared stories and resources for home schooling families and all those interested in education and would love to partner with you.

We're also going to be giving away some curriculum to select bloggers who will be writing about their experiences. If you're interested in applying for that, send an email to rebecca (@) bfbooks (.) com with the subject line: REVIEWER.

We're really excited to see what you send us! We know you all have a lot of experience and wisdom to share, so don't be shy, get those links/articles/pinterest boards/reviews and more to us! Email your links to rebecca (@) bfbooks (.) com.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages. To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here. And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

Friday, January 09, 2015

2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta–one of the most important documents in western civilization! Foundational to establishing the rule of law this ancient document was groundbreaking for its time and influenced the formation of the US government. It was revolutionary in that it established the principle that the king was to abide by the laws of the land! This may seem obvious to us now, but up to that point, kings and rulers were often a law unto themselves and used their power to perpetrate abuses, benefit themselves and their cohorts, and basically use their kingdoms for their own benefit. Of course, the Magna Carta did not end that, but it established the principle that the ruler could be held accountable for his actions under the law!

The story of the Magna Carta is one that is full of intrigue, double crossing, revolutionaries, and a muddy field. It's a story you don't want to miss and what better time to find out more than its 800th birthday!

Also, there will be celebrations around the world to mark this important anniversary - the US Declaration of Independence and our Bill of Rights are even making a trip across the Atlantic for the first time to be displayed with the Magna Carta! Further information on this historic display available here.

Here's our favorite books on the topic as well as websites and additional resources.

The Magna Charta by James Daugherty
It was Ben Franklin who coined the phrase, "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God," and if any historical drama fulfills that maxim, it is surely the saga of King John and the drafting of the Magna Charta. Out of the rich turbulence of English history, June 15, 1215 stands apart as a significant milestone in the progress of human liberty. On that day, a brave band of barons, led by the noble Stephen Langton, and calling themselves the Army of God, stood up to the wicked King John and demanded that he restore the ancient laws of England that he had so unabashedly trampled underfoot. The era is a rollicking one filled with colorful characters like Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Richard the Lionheart, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, and many more. Newbery and Caldecott medal-winner James Daugherty brings his own passion for freedom's story to this wonderful saga of the thirteenth century. Daugherty devotes the last part of the book to a history of the "documents" of freedom—what he calls the "Children of the Magna Charta"—demonstrating how liberty has progressed over the ages. Two-color illustrations by the author enhance the drama of this text.

Accused of being a demon by those who could not tolerate her independence, Eleanor of Aquitaine made her mark as one of the most dynamic and extraordinary figures of the Middle Ages. Born in 1122, Eleanor refused to be confined by the traditional gender roles of her time. She became well educated, gaining political and governing know-how from her father, William X, duke of Aquitaine, and armed herself with the skills necessary to become an influential queen-first of France, and later, England. With an impact that reached beyond politics, Eleanor shaped the future of the arts and humanities. And in a time when women were viewed as inferior to men, the virtues of chivalry and courtly love were born. Once described by a contemporary as "a woman beyond compare," Eleanor of Aquitaine is a figure who will remain controversial, powerful, and enchanting in the twenty-first century.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages. To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Last night was an exciting night at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. For a long time it's been one of my very favorite museums and if you're ever in Boston, you should definitely plan a visit. Last night the museum was in the spotlight because experts at the museum opened what is believed to be the oldest time capsule in the US!

The time capsule was discovered last month from the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House! Inside the capsule was a silver plate that explained that the box was placed in the cornerstone by Gov. Samuel Adams and Paul Revere in 1795! How amazing is that?

More information on the contents, history, and how it was opened here and here. Can you believe that it took someone five hours to unscrew the screws holding the box shut? The MFA blog has a great and detailed article here.

This is the second time capsule opened in Boston in the past six months! The first was found inside a famous statue in Boston and is 113 years old. More info here.

All of this gets me thinking about putting together my own time capsule. If you were to put one together with your family what would you include? Have you ever put together a time capsule? To celebrate this amazing piece of history, let's put together our own time capsules! Post a picture here in the comments section so we can see what everyone includes. I'm so excited to see what everyone includes!

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages. To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

Monday, January 05, 2015

Well, it's a New Year and while I've eschewed resolutions the past few years, I do find this time to be a good one for taking stock of my reading and I want to hear from you! As you look back over the past year, what books stood out to you? Which titles did your children enjoy most? Which ones were failures? What about in your personal reading - any standouts?

I'm going to be compiling a list of my favorites and would love to include some of yours! And there will be a giveaway - so be sure to comment below so that we can put together an amazing list.